Brussels
The EU’s Green Deal is not working
The Green Deal – the flagship priority of the von der Leyen Commission for the past 4 years – is suddenly up for debate.
The Essential Role of Family in Europe
Amidst debates on progressive social policies, the enduring importance of traditional family values for stability and prosperity has become increasingly evident.
The EU’s Deforestation Regulation Sparks Protests from Farmers and Governments
Rural communities unable to participate in supply chain to Europe risk being left behind
It is high time for Europe to reconsider its priorities in Central Asia
The EU needs to play a more active role in Central Asia with regard to both energy security and connectivity
Embracing Flexible Solutions to Ease the Energy Crisis
The energy disruption can be eased if the EU opts for a common-sense approach
The EU Should Avoid Following the US Approach on Forced Labour
Forced labour and child labour not only is a moral outrage but also an illegitimate economic activity that undercuts products produced fairly in Europe.
EU Enlargement: Montenegro’s accession is a milestone for the future of Europe
After a decade of negotiations, citizens must now secure Montenegro’s path to EU membership
Relations with Post-War Russia; a Mirror for Europe?
Foreign policy planning has never been the strong asset of the European Union
The EU Special Representative to the Gulf will play a key role in EU-GCC relationship
Luigi Di Maio’s candidacy irks key countries across the EU and the Gulf
The E.U. Should Follow the U.K.’s Model on Due Diligence
The U.K.’s current political and economic turmoil offers a model that no one on the continent would wish to follow right now – but its Due Diligence system, introduced in 2021, should be studied very closely
In Tackling Rising Food and Cost of Living Prices, the EU Finds an Unlikely Ally
As a result of the war in Ukraine, Europe, and the world, are facing unprecedented inflationary surges, cost of living and food security crises.
Creating a digital forum for voters in Germany
How CamBuildr works to give campaigners new tools for engaging with voters
Why neutrality is no longer an option for island states
Vulnerable nations face uncertain futures and complex allegiances in the face of a changing world order
Why green deals create green bubbles
Europe’s approach to the climate crisis has some fatal – and proven – flaws
United we stand
Russia’s war against Ukraine has provoked a strategic reawakening throughout Europe
Chewing over better health
At times of humanitarian crisis, small measures can solve complicated problems
Are our freedoms under threat?
Tearing down statues is just one manifestation of a direct attack on our values, institutions and shared history
Doomed to succeed
The euro may have fallen short of its objectives, but on its 20th birthday its survival inspires calls for further European integration
Reworking labour rights
The Malaysian palm oil industry is one of many making strides towards stamping out forced and trafficked labour
Calling time on ‘just in time’
Biden’s executive order to reshape the supply chain might foster improved transatlantic trade relations with the European Union
How to preserve European unity
There may be dissent within the EU – but key changes and a new mindset can yet win the day
Can Viktor Orbán be defeated?
Hungary’s opposition seems united around little more than its dislike of the PM and his Fidesz party. Will that be enough to beat him in April’s elections?
Interview: European and African trade
György Hölvényi MEP reveals his expectations for a new partnership deal between the European Union and the African Union
Why start ups are the flavour of the month
The future’s bright for startups – especially if the UK and EU can work together and rise to global challenges
Is Europe edging left?
A stunning socialist victory at Portugal’s snap election on Sunday is a boost for the centre-left in Western Europe
An MEP on: The EU-US approach to artificial intelligence
Why the transatlantic Trade and Technology Council will play a key role in the future of AI
Sustaining the palm oil debate
Palm oil has long been vilified for its unsustainability – but Malaysia’s palm oil minister Zuraida Kamaruddin thinks the industry can, and should, be saved
Investments in the age of AI
Progress in technology has made it easier for investors to perceive the risks – and rewards – of the financial markets
A strategy for nations’ best interests
True strategic autonomy will do much to strengthen the global economy for the EU and its allies
Sustainable technologies in agriculture will be key to EU Africa partnership
Agricultural inputs and technology can and should be a core part of delivering sustainable development in African agriculture
Is GovTech the new FinTech?
Daniel Korski, CEO and co-founder of PUBLIC, is closing the gap between technology and government
An MEP on… Why Europe must find itself
Democracy is under attack in Europe
How to programme the future
Modern technologies could make the world a better place – or they could do the exact opposite
Consider Nigeria
To fight the immigration crisis, the EU must take a firm stance on human rights in Nigeria
Scholz, Putin & Boris – what does it all mean?
The United Kingdom will soon feel a chillier wind blowing from the new Scholz-led government in Berlin
Anti-elite politics hits Hungary
Péter Márki-Zay is an independent politician running to become prime minister. He stormed through the second round of primaries, but what are his chances of winning against Viktor Orbán this spring?
Is the Eurocracy ‘Woke’?
Many thought the EU was too technocratic to embrace the wave of wokeness washing over the West. They may have been proved wrong
Don’t underestimate the submarines
Why Aukus makes a whole lot of sense for America’s security and defence in the long term
Building blocks
Gérard Pogorel speaks to Thomas Dünser, the man who led Liechtenstein’s pioneering Blockchain Act, on how he is shaping a brave new financial world
Europe braces for winter
The EU’s ongoing energy crisis reveals how little its green transition has progressed
African farmers ask the EU for a localised partnership
As they stand, the EU’s trading standards are an obstacle to the continent’s economic success
Losing precedence
The ECJ is losing out in Poland and beyond. Is the primacy of EU law ebbing away?
An appetite for diplomacy
With the right ingredients, gastrodiplomacy in Brussels is proving to be the ideal conversation starter for ministers within and beyond the EU
Europe’s Embattled Progressives
Europe took a decidedly neoliberal shift thirty years ago, but centre-left moderates still view the union as a beacon of progressivism
Green and pleasant plans
Virginijus Sinkevičius, the EU’s youngest commissioner speaks to Ben Goldsmith, chair of the Conservative Environment Network, about Cop26, collective responsibility and blue carbon
The future of strategic autonomy
If you follow European politics and haven’t yet come across “strategic autonomy”, you’re not following closely enough
The right to survive climate change
Maldivian diplomat Jeffrey Salim Waheed calls on Cop26 to enshrine the need for a human rights-based approach to tackling the climate emergency
The nuclear option
The energy and climate crises are hitting Europe hard. Here’s how to fix them both
The Éric Zemmour Factor
The right-wing ‘intellectuel’ is fast becoming Emmanuel Macron’s worst nightmare
Germany: the land where centrists rule
The collapse of traditional governing parties across Europe has benefited radical and populist rivals – but this is not the case in Germany
Norway Backtracks on Climate Commitments
Norway’s stonewalling on deforestation incentive payments to Indonesia undermines future rich-poor cooperation on climate change
Spirit of revival
Commissioner Mariya Gabriel explains how the New European Bauhaus is fronting the next wave of cultural innovation
Mariya Gabriel on Europe’s New Bauhaus
Why is a new European initiative drawing inspiration from a century-old German art school movement?
An MEP on… A Just Transition
Europe is leading the way in promoting a quick phasing out of coal and bridging natural resources like gas
The Constant Currency
Why the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) requires slow and gradual reform.
Why Germany Needs to Elect a Jamaica Coalition
Instead of laying the ground for the future, Merkel’s politics has been administering for today based on the successes of yesterday: a ‘Jamaica’ coalition could change the country’s future.
Weaving a Silk Seven Summit
If the EU wants to remain a global powerhouse undwarfed by China, it should aid Afghanistan’s economic integration with its nearer neighbours.
In Search of A Social EU?
The bloc must find a delicate balance between adequate social support whilst encouraging individual responsibility
How to Revamp the EU’s Global Image
Updating its policies on security and militarisation could dramatically improve the EU’s image – both internally and externally, says Katalin Cseh MEP.
How Afghanistan Is Testing the EU’s Global Leadership
For the EU, shirking its responsibilities regarding Afghan refugees and failing to engage with the Taliban will only reduce the bloc’s status on the global stage.
Europe’s Digital Transformation
Europe’s digital strategy must harness innovation, maximise personal freedom and protect against new threats, writes Francesco Cappelletti of the European Liberal Forum.
The EU’s Internal Market Needs Bolstering
Antonios Nestoras, ELF Policy and Research Coordinator, outlines a progressive plan to protect two crucial pillars of the EU from possible challenges.
The European Green Deal is Not Enough
Nicu Ștefănuță MEP argues that to build a sustainable future, Europe must work together and aim beyond its current goals.
Fixing the EU’s Institutions
Introducing the first chapter of the 2021 Liberal White Book, Hilde Vautmans MEP sets out the key reforms that would revive the EU’s institutional framework.
Making the EU Happen
Daniel Kaddik, Executive Director of the European Liberal Forum, argues for a concrete European roadmap for action addressing all the complexities of modern challenges facing the continent.
An essay in fiction
Putin is rewriting history. How and why?
The Third Pole of Power
It’s been a long time coming, and now it’s official. Dubbed as a new Cold War, the US-China confrontation in the Pacific has now cut across the Atlantic into the NATO Summit Declaration. Yet, in a re-emerging bipolarity, Europe may this time choose to play the role of a third pole of power, writes Dr Antonios Nestoras.
Europe Must Rethink the Digital Services Act
The European Commission claims that the Digital Services Act (DSA) will deliver much-needed harmonisation and clarity of regulation. In fact, it introduces new risks and costs on businesses without adequate justification. If the European Commission aims to improve the competitiveness of Europe’s digital economy and to safeguard the interests of European consumers, its proposals must be significantly amended.
Biden, Putin, and the Danger of Shaking Hands
At the Geneva Summit, the American President ignored warnings not to shake his Russian counterpart’s hand. In doing so, he reflected a wider trend in which the West shuts its eyes to Russian aggressions, blocking out decades of sound advice coming from Eastern and Central Europe.
The misty meaning of the G7 tax agreement
The G7 agreement on the minimum tax of 15 percent is a small step, but it is not yet clear in which direction.
Isolating Morocco would be a historic blunder for the EU
Why the EU needs a change of policy approach to avoid Morocco becoming another uncooperative player in the region, which could be just as devastating as when the West lost Turkey
Zoom and the equalisation of ideas
How politicians and videoconferencing have made the world smaller
The EU’s perilous social justice bill
The Commission’s three-pronged plans for a new Europe have returned from hibernation – and are a sleepwalk into bad policy
Europe’s Last Chance in Venezuela
The following months are a make-or-break window of opportunity for the EU to accelerate Nicolás Maduro’s demise and a democratic restoration in the country, argues a new report.
Making European vaccine strategy “antifragile” by eliminating the virus
It yet remains to be seen if the vaccine will deliver the promise of a return to normal life, with no new waves of infections.
Never mind Macron, worry about whoever comes next
The combination of Macron’s new-found popularity on the right, the apathetic support for him from the centre, and Le Pen’s tainted brand, may save him in next year’s election
Why the Uyghur genocide in China matters
Any move towards closer economic cooperation between the European Union and China must be put on pause until the situation in Xinjiang is entirely remedied
Can Europe turn into a global digital leader?
The future European legislative framework needs to be technologically open and define very clear rules, avoiding unnecessary red tape.
The real problem with the “Sofa Gate”
The trip was supposed to reignite the spark of a relationship between the EU and Turkey – a relationship that has been strained over the last few years.
After COVID, the EU needs a new approach to China
The pandemic has proved a turning point for China’s foreign policy and public relations. Brussels should reciprocate.
Europe’s risk aversion affects the whole world
From digital policy to transport, the EU’s overly prescriptive approach to risk is unwise and costly.
The Streaming Wars: European culture could be a major step towards recovery
Politicians across the bloc ought to remember the films and series they enjoyed during lockdown – and support their continental producers.
To Europeans, America is back. The US wants something in return
If it is not possible to renew transatlantic vows under Biden, chances are that it will not happen under his successor either.
Treaty change can secure post-Covid reform for the EU
The upcoming Conference on the Future of Europe must avoid becoming a mere publicity stunt, when the bloc needs drastic change.
COVID Recovery Fund challenged in European Courts
If the Constitutional Court decides to proceed with the case, it could delay the roll out of the Coronavirus Recovery Fund for months
